by C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J.

These articles on the history of slavery, segregation, and race at Holy Trinity germinated in a series of conversations that took place in the pastor’s office in the fall of 2015. At the time several of us were imagining ways to mark our parish history. We discussed how in 2018 we would commemorate the 200th anniversary of Holy Trinity School and in 2019 we would celebrate the 225th anniversary of our chapel. At first we considered simply writing a book on their respective histories. We were also aware that there existed two books dealing with the parish’s history which needed to be updated.

One book was titled History of Holy Trinity Parish, Washington, D.C., 1795-1945, by Laurence Kelly, S.J. It was written on the occasion of the parish’s sesquicentennial. The second book, titled At Peace with All Their Neighbors: Catholics and Catholicism in the National Capital, 1787-1860, by William W. Warner, while not entirely about the parish, did include important information about Holy Trinity’s early history. It is important to note, however that neither book considered in any detail the issues of enslavement and segregation. Moreover, we felt that simply writing and publishing a book would not do justice to the parish’s rich tapestry of stories.

So we entertained other ideas and arrived at the concept of creating a parish history timeline for our parish hall, the McKenna Center, so that people would have easy and continual access to some of the important features of our past. As a result, a team of parishioners dug into the 37 boxes of parish records stored in Georgetown University Library and found articles and photos around which a 50-foot timeline was drawn in 2018.

Beginning with the arrival of the first Catholic settlers in Maryland on March 25, 1634, the timeline traces how some of their descendants founded and developed the parish in the late 18th century. Pictures of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln suggest the parish’s engagement with the fledgling nation, while photos of parishioners President John and Jacqueline Kennedy denote the parish’s political significance. Meanwhile interior and exterior photos of the Chapel (opened in 1794) and the main church (opened in 1851) reveal how the parish’s worship spaces changed over time. The timeline successfully enhanced the commemoration of both the 2018 and 2019 anniversaries.

But an important dimension of the parish’s story was neglected in the timeline, namely the role of race, enslavement, and segregation in Holy Trinity’s history. The issue was brought to the forefront following the media revelation that the Jesuits of Maryland Province had, in 1838, sold hundreds of enslaved persons quite literally down the river to raise money and pay the debts of Georgetown College. This scandalous event generated much national attention and discussion, and continues to do so today.

Our Holy Trinity parishioners, in recognizing that the Jesuits of the Maryland Province also served as priests of Holy Trinity parish, were led to wonder if the Jesuits at this parish were similarly involved in owning enslaved people. It was known that many parishioners did enslave African Americans and that at one point a third of our parishioners were either enslaved or free Black people. In the summer of 2020, which brought the death of George Floyd, our Restorative Justice group encouraged the parish History Committee to begin to explore our legacy of enslavement, segregation, and race.

As you will read in these articles, some of the Jesuit parish leaders were complicit in the scandal of enslavement. The articles presented here represent the beginnings of our effort to learn more about Holy Trinity’s participation in the sins of enslavement and segregation – chapters of our history that we, as a parish, deeply regret and for which we profoundly apologize.

Having read and reflected upon the various articles included here, it occurred to me that this is part of an historical process of “looking backward forward.” It thereby not only sheds light on a dark and secretive and even scandalous past, but invites – indeed challenges – us to look forward and ask, “So what do we do about it now?” And so I encourage you, the reader, as you take in this important collection of stories, to ponder this question. I also ask you to pray for all those Holy Trinity parishioners who were enslaved and segregated and yet, despite all the painful discrimination they endured, persevered in their faith, and continued to seek their rights as American citizens. May they, and their descendants, always be treated with the equal dignity which God’s love demands for all human beings.